On Working Together for Community-Building: Pierce County families

We are the Tacoma Invaders, an adult minor league football team based in Tacoma, Washington. We are members of the Western Washington Football Alliance (WWFA). The Invaders provide local athletes the opportunity to compete at the minor league level, which can sometimes lead to college, arena and even professional careers. We are a non-profit organization that relies completely upon community support. Your support also ensures Pierce County families a fun and safe family entertainment option during our spring season.

 

http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=tacomainvaders

 

 

The Invaders are practicing both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

 

 

Gwen went over yesterday to the Invaders practice at Giaudrone Middle School to discuss with Karen starting up Junior Youth Groups for the families involved in with the Tigers and Upper Tacoma Youth Athletics.

 

HI George!

We went to the practice yesterday and spent a while talking with Karen about the JYSEP and she loved it! She's going to talk to the Board to see if they can schedule a meeting so that I can come in and tell them about the program. She thinks it sounds great but we will have to see where it goes from here. Many prayers please!

Charles, Offensive Coach for the Invaders, shared some exciting plans for supporting kids in the Tacoma community with the friends at the end of the IPG last Sunday. -gw

 

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On the Baha'i Community As Not Congregational: The group seemed to be remarkably free of the "churchy" in-fighting that just exhausts me

I attended a devotional service today--my first visit to a Baha'i group other than this forum. It was very pleasant and I enjoyed it. I'll be going back. I'm told that most "church activities" in this area are in the homes of individuals. It was also explained that the Baha'i faith is not congregational, and I like that.  and is the one thing that would stop me from getting further involved.

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http://bahaiforums.com/general-discussion/2927-attended-bahai-devotional-service.html#post10967
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What does a congregation do? It passively receives. What does a communty do? It interacts.
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Here is more from Kim and Cornelia's last Baha'i devotional. -gw
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On Returning to Salishan: New visitors shedding reservations

Several teams returned to Salishan.  New visitors found it to be a friendly, attractive neighborhood with many nice people.  Team members stayed alert to people out on the street they could talk to.  One team continued their approach of focusing on engaging in conversation in such a way that they were doing more listening than talking.  People would really open up, so this team only visited four families, but they all have children and jr youth, and are interested in having their children attend the newest Baha'i childrens class.  Another woman is interested in hosting a jr youth group in her mother’s home.  One Baha’i had her first experience visiting folks and although reticent at first, soon became surprised at how easily she shed her reservations.  Another team member shared her learning that “you can just sit down and have a conversation with people.” 

 

From a Cluster 19 report on our rcent teaching campaign.

 

 

Salishan, arguably our first receptive neighborhood, received lots of attention during our recent intensive campaign. -gw

 

 

 

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On Hiking Illahee: Talking Yoga

 

After more than a month of hiking it alone, I now have company on the trails in the Illahee Preserve. Having the chance to visit while getting exercise adds to the bounty of being in the woods. Here is a conversation about a recent yoga retreat offered by the yoga instructor who provides a noon-hour class on Mondays at the place where I work. -gw

 

 

By uvmglobalvillage Global Village

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On Your Momma's Gone: Rocky's loss at age 16

 

I guess you can say I am compiling Rocky's autobiography in spoken word in 90-second video clips that, with hiskind permission,  I am putting put up on Flickr and posting about on Baha'i Views. Last week Rocky told about the murder of his mother and the death of his father through suicide when he was just 16 back in the little Appalachian town of Ironton, Ohio. At age 17 Rocky went into the Navy, a choice that lead later to his finding a career as able bodied seaman on freighters and tugs. -gw

 

 

The condition of the soul after death.

• The faithful soul will attain a sublime position and eternal happiness, but the unfaithful soul will recognize its loss and be consumed in eternal remorse.
• No one knows his own end; therefore, we should forgive others and not feel superior towards them.
• In the next world, the holy souls become acquainted with all mysteries and behold the beauty of God.
• In the next world, we will recognize our loved ones and enjoy companionship with the friends of God; we will remember the life we had in this material world.

http://www.ruhiresources.org/book-1/ruhi-book-1-reflections-on-the-life-of-the-spirit/

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On This Earthly House Will Soon Decay: And my soul's gotta have somewhere to stay

 

 

A Baha'i song originally sung during the mass teaching campaigns back in South Carolina during the 1970's sung by Gwen in Tacoma in 2011. -gw

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On Baha'i-Inspired Music by Katharine Key: A live performance of "Plexiglass"

This is a performance of "Plexiglass" by singer songwriter Katharine Key that took place right here in Tacoma when Katharine came through several months back. It is gorgeous, incorporating the writings of Baha'u'llah, namely, "Love Me that I may love thee."

Look Katharine up on www.justkat.com. Her website has a link to where people can buy her Intone abum online, and also has links to her Facebook page, etc. And good news! Katharine has another album on the way, one  that will probably include "Plexiglass," I'm guessin'. She's been recording with Andy Grammer recently, if that name rings a bell. -gw

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On After Quiet Shoes: Isaac Olsen's next movie was begun while at Louhelen

Check out early press on Isaac’s upcoming movie project, begun while he was on his Baha'i Year of Service at Louhelen Baha'i School. -gw

http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/entertainment/spew-blog/2011/01/Movie-Biz-Buzz-Isaac-Olsens-I-Hunger-tacoma-film-spaceworks-christopher-wood/
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On Baha'i-Inspired Music by Katharine Key: A live performance of "Plexiglass"

This is a performance of "Plexiglass" by singer songwriter Katharine Key that took place right here in Tacoma when Katharine came through several months back. It is gorgeous, incorporating the writings of Baha'u'llah, namely, "Love Me that I may love thee."

 

 

Look Katharine up on www.justkat.com. Her website has a link to where people can buy her Intone abum online, and also has links to her Facebook page, etc. And good news! Katharine has another album on the way, one  that will probably include "Plexiglass," I'm guessin'. She's been recording with Andy Grammer recently, if that name rings a bell. -gw

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On It's Not the Bears or the Packers in Tacoma, It's the Invaders: Coach Henri meets Coach Charles

 

The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers are getting ready for the Superbowl, which marks the end of the NFL football season, but for the Tacoma Invaders, the football season is just beginning. They start practicing in January and have their first game in May, playing through the summer.  I had the bounty of being at their first practice last Saturday, along  with my friend Henri, a member of the Northwest Regional Baha'i Council. 

 

One of the coaches of the Invaders is a Baha'i, Coach Charles. I wanted Henri, who is kinda like a coach to all of us the Baha'is in our area, to meet him.

 

Saturday was a sunny day interrupting a chain of rainy days. An auspicious start, I'd say! -gw

 

 

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On Positive Outcomes for Society: An end to complacency and catalepsy

I enjoy reading about cold places in the wintertime, so picked up "In Siberia" by Colin Thubron. It is only through the exquisite richness of Thubron's prose that I can continue to read this narrative, pockmarked with the horrors of the Gulag, Soviet exploitation of natural resources, and the sludge of corrupt, inefficient bureaucracy.

 

In contrast, there are stories of human compassion and an unshakable desire to believe in hopeful outcomes, despite the miasma of the past, the ever-present struggle, the bored catalepsy of stagnant institutions and their administrators.

 

It is the old women who remember the prayers of long ago, who rekindle religious traditions of the past, even if the clergy cannot always remember the prayers. With the old babushkas there is an unshakable desire to believe, a hopefulness born of faith. They want to live for the future.

 

The youth are not similarly inclined. They move forward, hopeful of material security.

 

I read Thubron during our Baha'i IPG - Intensive Program of Growth. At our IPG we learned what it takes to believe in a process - 'the how and why'; adapting and changing; learning to persevere, straining every fiber to foster altruism and neighborliness, to care about the needs of families, children and youth.

 

Two words are on my mind - complacency, mentioned at the IPG, and this new word in Thubron's book, catalepsy. The former refers to a feeling of self-satisfaction that can inhibit taking in critical information. And the latter, catalepsy, refers to a trance like state with loss of voluntary motion and failure to react to stimuli. Both conditions sabotage positive outcomes for society.

 

Thubron listened to an old woman lament, her eyes brimming. She said she hoped for so much better, saying a city was founded. Yet in time schools were demolished, libraries closed down. People lost all belief - faith. She surfed through television channels with discontent, then switched it off saying, "...to think that it's come to this!"

 

http://flitzyphoebie.blogspot.com/2011/01/pos-positive-outcomes-for-society.html

 

This is Bonita's blog reflection on the Baha'i Intensive Program of Growth, 22nd cycle, now underway in our area. And below is a second installment of photos from the IPG gathering in our home this past weekend. -gw

 

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On Being a Foster Parent: Karen's philosophy of care

I work in community mental health and have opportunity to meet and work with a lot of foster parents. I tell them it is one of the toughest jobs in the world, in my opinion, and I admire them greatly.

 

When I was visiting the Tacoma Invaders first day of practice to say hello to Coach Charles and introduce him to my Baha'i friend Henri, visiting from Portland, I had a chance to learn something about Karen, administrator par excellance of both the Invaders Football Club and the Upper Tacoma Youth Athletics Tigers little league football team. She and her husband, Coach Will, are foster parents. Here is her sharing her philosophy about caring for foster kids. -gw

 

 

 

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On Let Them Strain Every Nerve: Intensive last day of the Tacoma Baha'i expansion campaign

 

Well, we did it. Completed the 9-day intensive of the 22nd cycle of our Baha'i Program of Growth here in Pierce County, Washington. We did so attempting to "strain every nerve," in the words of the Universal House of Justice. The photo set below is from Sunday, pictures of both our preparation and our consultation on our learnings afterwards. Video clips are coming and are fantastic! A photo set from Saturday is coming, too. -gw

 

 

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On the Baha'i Institute Process: One blogger's succinct overview

 

I have great interest in blogs that feature the Baha'i Institute Process on a regular basis. This post on The Correlator provides a wonderful overview. Click over and read this entry in its entirety. -gw

 

...people who are attracted to Bahá’u’lláh and His teachings enter into a process of lifelong learning and service by which they are nurtured to acquire capacity and skills. The entire world is organized into small geographic areas called clusters. Every cluster begins its development when a nucleus of people embark on a process that unites study of the creative words of Bahá’u’lláh with actions that put them into practice. One of the earliest phases is the study in small groups of a course on the life of the spirit, prayer and life after death, joined with the activity of starting a prayer meeting to which any and all people in one's neighbourhood are invited. The next phase is the study of service itself, in a second study course which is paired with the service action of visiting people in their homes to discuss spiritual themes and the actions by which they can be put into practice. The third phase is to study the principles of spiritual education for children in a third study course. The service action for this course is to start or support a children's class. And so it goes. Successive courses create capacities to guide and support junior youth, serve selflessly and effectively on elected bodies and committees, and so on. Every cluster where this process of study paired with service is underway is considered to have a Program of Growth.

 

http://thecorrelator.blogspot.com/2011/01/study-of-gods-plan-for-re-constructing.html

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On Devoted to Devotionals: A next step after taking Reflections on the Life of the Spirit

 

One outcome of participation in Ruhi Book 1 is you become devoted to Baha'i devotional gatherings. Hosting a devotional is a form of service one can provide to friends and neighbors. -gw

 

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On High Flying Baha'i Youth: How are we expected to measure distances over the water?

 

Isaac is baack from an extended visit to South Africa! Got back during the MLK celebration/potluck at his house.

 

Steph is gone to Tonga for her Baha'i Year of Service.

 

>

> Hey All!

> I made it to Tonga! I'm sitting here in an Internet cafe!

> Flights went fine, though i needed EVERY SECOND of that layover in LA to get

> through the lines.  Nice Tongan woman on

> the plane taught me some words (like glass of water, and bread with butter

> ;-))  More to come!

>

> It's hot yet lovely here with infrequent scattered showers and managable

> humidity.  Moved into my place, have a bank account, and went veggie

> shopping in the market. Turns out there are some left over spices for me to

> use, so you can hold on to the ones I left for now.

>

> It's beautifully green here and I love all the plant life, even if the

> buildings themselves are a bit dingier and tiny ants are everywhere on the

> floors.  Found a tiny gecko in my closet when unpacking with the cute 7 yr

> old boy who live next store and, after each item of clothing I pulled out

> asked, "Are you done yet?!" ;-) There will be 2 girls pioneering here from

> England starting Thurs, so I'll have housemates till they get their own

> place, then another YOS youth comes from Canada next month to be my roommate

> I think.  Till then, I've got the modest place to myself!  Bedroom for two,

> closet, linen closet, shower bathroom, and a shared kitchen.  Will work on

> pictures and blogging as i settle in.  Jetlag not so bad! Soon to get cell

> phone too, so I my get to call soon.

>

> Well, there's some sort of jr. youth meeting about to occur, so we have to

> go.  Much love!

> --

> Stephanie

 

And this young woman is blogging about her Year of Service experience, much to my great delight.

 

http://watersofthyunity.wordpress.com/

 

Steph may now be in Tonga now, but has a published poem on visiting Italy. -gw 

The holiday over, in a Rome deaf
to the gods of the past,
the night falling
in Cinque Terre,
our footsteps slow on the receding steps,
the milk mixing with honey in small cafés
the panini melting soft cheese in the morning,
but first, the moon must fade into the night sky
just above the frozen horizon,
how are we expected to measure distances over the water?

http://minettareview.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/stephanie-gilbert-%e2%80%94-the-cinque-terre-holiday/

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On Passing the 100,000 Site Views Mark on Posterous: Thanks!

 

22 subscribers // 902 posts // 100,012 site views

 

I post my Baha'i Views content to my blog on Posterous, where it is simultaneouslhy autoposted to my older versions of the blog. The minimalist Posterous site has accumulated 100,000 site views as of this day. I'm not sure what it means. But it's a number. And thanks are in order. -gw

 

http://bahaiviews.posterous.com

 

 

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On Power to the People, Photos for Sultan: God from everlasting was love, justice, power

[Flickr] Jamie Frank has invited you to see the MLK jr. Day, Tacoma, Wa. set on Flickr
	this set might also serve as the set for the month of Sultan ....... what do you think ? Jamie  MLK jr. Day, Tacoma, Wa.

 

 

I think it's a great reflection on the Baha'i month of Sultan, or sovereignty, Jamie! -gw

 

God is eternal and ancient; not a new God. His sovereignty is of old, not recent; not merely existent these five or six thousand years. This infinite universe is from everlasting. The sovereignty, power, names and attributes of God are eternal, ancient. His names presuppose creation and predicate His existence and will. We say God is creator. This name creator appears when we connote creation. We say God is the provider. This name presupposes and proves the existence of the provided. God is love. This name proves the existence of the beloved. In the same way God is mercy, God is justice, God is life, etc., etc. Therefore as God is creator, eternal and ancient, there were always creatures and subjects existing and provided for. There is no doubt that divine sovereignty is eternal. Sovereignty necessitates subjects, ministers, trustees and others subordinate to sovereignty. Could there be a king without country, subjects and armies? If we conceive of a time when there were no creatures, no servants, no subjects of divine lordship we dethrone God and predicate a time when God was not. It would be as if He had been recently appointed and man had given these names to Him. The divine sovereignty is ancient, eternal. God from everlasting was love, justice, power, creator, provider, the omniscient, the bountiful.

 

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

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On Good Morning World: Each time I text you "good am" it's not just a morning greeting

 

GoodMorning! is a Twitter visualization tool that shows about 11,000 ‘good morning’ tweets over a 24 hour period, rendering a simple sample of Twitter activity around the globe. The tweets are colour-coded: green blocks are early tweets, orange ones are around 9am, and red tweets are later in the morning. Black blocks are ‘out of time’ tweets which said good morning (or a non-english equivalent) at a strange time in the day. ... watch the video below to see the ‘good morning’ wave travel around the globe:

 

http://blog.blprnt.com/blog/blprnt/goodmorning

 

 

 

Good morning. Where are you going today? What do you hope to accomplish? What can you do to bring unity to the world?

 

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On Some Advice for a "Wayward" Relative: No one will ever come to the Father except through Me

 

I have a relative who says she just can’t find a Christian Church where she feels comfortable.

“I feel as though I don’t fit anywhere.”

It doesn’t occur to her that the search for truth does not begin with the assumption that one is already in possession of the truth.
It doesn’t occur to her that she will never fit in a Christian Church when what she believes to be true is diametrically opposed to what Jesus the Christ taught.

For example, Jesus taught:
I Am the Way,
I Am Truth,
Real Life and Real Living are found in no One but Me
No one will ever come to the Father except through Me.

This woman believes that any and all religions will lead to acceptance with God as long as one is sincere in h/her believes. If Jesus taught the former while she believes the latter, of course she is not going to find a “fit” in a Christian congregation.

Her solution? She’s going to take a class in Comparative Religions. Translation: “I’m going to pay someone to teach me what I already believe, i.e., no one religion has a corner on truth.” It would be far cheaper if she just joined a Baha’i congregation. She’ll eventually reach that point. Why put it off?

This blogger sees a community for his wayward relative to feel at home. -gw

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On Martin Luther King Day: Celebrated at the Dome and at home

 

I just know that Jamie is going to put all his pictures of the Martin Luther King Day celebration at the Tacoma Dome in a set for posting, but for now here is just one photo. Check out the incredibly sharp images! Must be the new camera and lens. Jamie was teaching me about "circles of confusion," photography talk regarding depth of field. I'd like to say, I'm less confused now about how to take a good photo. Suffice it to say, there are people who take photographs (and that's just about everybody today), and there are those who take photographs with a truly professional eye.

 

The Tacoma Baha'is celebrated another MLK Day with their traditional potluck at Deb and Tim's.

 

 

The high point was the singing. Robert and El Rico each sang a lullaby to a new baby Baha'i. Gwen had a Baha'i song from South Carolina. Yup, you could say the high points of the day were the high notes.

 

 

 

 

Alex passed on word about another entry by a Baha'i blogger on Huffington Post. -gw

 

Dr. King's Dream and a Prisoner in Baghdad 150 Years Ago

 

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On Race and Religion, 1941: On my mind this MLK Day in 2011

Spencer Williams, Jr. was the only black director who received frequent commissions from white moguls to make films during the race movie era. Williams was a big, boisterous actor-singer best known for playing Andy Brown in the early-50s TV series Amos 'n' Andy. In early-talkies Hollywood he had worked as an actor, a sound technician and a screenwriter on low-budget or indie films. In 1940 he was hired by Dallas exhibitor Al Sack to write and direct films, apparently with a minimum of front-office interference. He made nine or ten of them: oddball melodramas (Girl in Room 20), low-octane jive musicals (Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A., Juke Joint) and a trio of religious epics: The Blood of Jesus, Go Down, Death and Of One Blood.

 

... 1941's The Blood of Jesus, has a naive grandeur to match its subject. A morality play about an angel and a devil fighting for a woman's soul, it begins with a baptism and ends in bloody death near a cross — all scored to rousing gospel music. Told in a spare style with no hokum, the movie has the feeling of an honest, unmediated religious experience. For decades, this and other Williams films were thought lost, but in the mid-80s prints were discovered in a Tyler, Texas warehouse. And so 50 years after its making, Jesus was selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress' National Registry of Films.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1709148_1709143_1709645,00.html #ixzz1BM9V2py4

 

Rocky gifted me with a video of this important American film which we viewed before devotions last Thursday. Here are a few images taken while it was bein shown on our TV, complete with commentary by the "audience," to convey it's flavor. -gw

 

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On With a Little Help From Our Friends: It takes a draught of divine love to unify a neighborhood and a village to raise a child

Corinne is a radiant soul who participated on a Baha'i teaching team visiting the homes of Lakewood residents on Saturday, then joining the prayer team on Sunday. We are so grateful for her service.

 

 

Before being whisked off to a visit to Tacoma's Glass Museum with "Auntie" Martha and "Uncle" Norm, while the rest of us girded up our loins for Day Two of our intensive on Sunday, Liam occupied himself by practicing his eye-hand coordination at his mother Lisa's feet. -gw

 

 

More photos from Day Two of Lakewood's IPG are here. gw

 

When any souls grow to be true believers, they will attain a spiritual relationship with one another, and show forth a tenderness which is not of this world. They will, all of them, become elated from a draught of divine love, and that union of theirs, that connection, will also abide forever. Souls, that is, who will consign their own selves to oblivion, strip from themselves the defects of humankind, and unchain themselves from human bondage, will beyond any doubt be illumined with the heavenly splendours of oneness, and will all attain unto real union in the world that dieth not.

 

'Abdu'l-Baha

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On Celebrating World Religion Day: Visiting friends of Washat, Shaker, and Medicine Dance to share our respect with them

Found on Facebook ...

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Found on the 'net... -gw

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On Hiking Illahee in Winter: It's winter

 

In case you are wondering, it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere. But still good hiking in the Ilahee Preserve. -gw

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On Aethists Ain't Got No Music: 1,177,024 YouTube viewers (so far) are onto something

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On the First Pressing: Pictures from Lakewood's IPG

The "first pressing" from our 22nd intensive Baha'i expansion campaign, in pictures. -gw

 

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On How To Make Money At Music: Now touring is the cornerstone

 

What music are you listening to there days? How many of the musicians producing the music are Baha'i? Are those musicians still producing music for sale? Do you ever wonder in the case of an artist, will there ever be another album to enjoy?  

 

If the musician is a Baha'i, there is an immediate advantage. The Baha'i community.

 

http://www.facebook.com/katkeymusic

 

Last week I listened to Steve Shere on KUOW FM, the Seattle NPR affiliate, in a discussion about "How To Make Money At Music" The programis up on the KUOW website and available as a podcast. -gw

 

Industry analysts and executives have bemoaned the imminent death of the music industry ever since the birth of the Internet. In reality it's only the record business that's in peril. Album sales once built musical empires. Now touring is the cornerstone of an artist's financial success. Bands who make the road their home are not just insulated from the drop in record sales — they can be profitable! How can you succeed in the modern music industry? Tune in to find out.

 

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=22300

 

 

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On the Baha'i Intensive Campaign Starting Today: What are our goals?

These are our goals. -gw

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On Old and New: There's room for both in Baha'i community life

As we were leaving our Book 8 session last time Mrs. J was saying how she wants to keep her Wednesday night fireside, held since 1967, going after she dies and somebody was saying how the LSA is looking into that and I was thinking how nobody, not if there were a million applicants could ever fill this woman's shoes in our lifetime and I was thinking what somebody should do, somebody with a camcorder that is, is to record what she has to say and put her on YouTube so that her beloved fireside could continue on forever in Cyberspace and then maybe somebody will run across the Baha'i Faith through her unique testimony the same way I ran across Odetta who showed me what a blues singer can do with House of the Rising Sun. In my dreams ...

 

http://badiblog.blogspot.com/

 

John has a story to tell here. Book 8, Baha'i firesides, YouTube, Odetta. Old and new.

 

The term "Baha'i fireside" is not new, has been in use for decades.

 

Letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi

 

http://www.bahaiviews.net/?s=fireside

 

A reference to attending a Book 8, the latest workbook in the Ruhi Institute series, now that's new.

 

 

Old and new, there's room for both. -gw

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On Feed Tacoma: Hungry for photos

Look what's showing up on Feed Tacoma, photos of our very own Stadium District Baha'i devotional. -gw

 

http://feedtacoma.com/photos.php

http://feedtacoma.com/home.php

 

FeedTacoma.com is a free community focused and supported resource for those that live in and/or love Tacoma.

This website combines the thoughtful commentary and insight of a handful of Tacomans who want to spread the good word about this great town. Life here can be rich and fulfilling so we encourage living it through group meet-ups and info about things to see, eat, and do in Tacoma.

What's with the name?
Currently, the site's content is based on snippets or "feeds" from contributing websites. These feeds are pulling Tacoma-related stuff only and, while we were messing around testing, was a working title that stuck. It also represents the action of "feeding" folks info about this area and why it's a vibrant and comfortable place to live, work, and play.

http://feedtacoma.com/about.php

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On Yoga and Baha'i: My relationship with the Faith helps me to understand how I can practice bringing spiritual truths to our global society

Samudra Yoga’s Manifesto

We believe yoga is for everyone. Every size, every age, every mood, every degree of flexibility.

We believe in a practice that does not stop at the physical level, but one that reaches deep to affect your spirit, your soul.

We believe in Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, TKV Desikachar and feel grateful for all the other teachers that have shared their yoga with us.

We believe in carbohydrates.

We believe in living Green. Our paints are lead/VOC free, our insulation is made from recycled blue jeans, our yoga props are eco-friendly, we have used repurposed fixtures where possible, our coffee shop uses compostable cups, lids, straws and utensils---you get the idea.

We believe that you should put down your Blackberry and go pick some actual blackberries.

We believe that when given the chance to practice yoga while looking out over a park and saltwater inlet, while cookies bake below you, you should take that chance.

We believe in Bremerton.

We believe that when you try to bring peace into your body, you can find peace in your soul.

We believe in OM.

Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu. (May all beings in all worlds become happy and free.)

We can’t wait to meet you!

Above is the "manifesto":of a local Yoga studio in the town I work in. They got the spirit. Below is recent chatter on a yoga forum. -gw

 

 

I found this site by looking up yoga and Baha'i. I am a practicing Baha'i and also a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, yoga teacher trainer and director of Yoga Impact. The physical practices of yoga help me to access meditation, my meditation practice clears my head, my study of yoga philosophy is educational and my relationship with the Baha'i Faith helps me to understand how I can practice bringing spiritual truths to our global society.

 

http://www.yogaforums.com/forums/f33/since-we-re-already-talking-about-6941.html

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On Fit, Baha'i and Raw: Nice company

http://twitter.com/#!/rawvegandreams/status/25661672899223552

 

If she connects with those people, she'll be in nice company. -gw

 

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/o/BNE/bne-83-printable.html

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On Cornelia Did Not Sing Last Night at Baha'i Devotions: But she could have

 

Cornelia did not sing last night at the Baha'i devotional in her home, but she could have.

 

What a great turn-out there was for this monthly gathering put on by Stadium District neighbors Kim and Cornelia in only its second incarnation! -gw

 

 

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On Excused From Baha'i Childen's Class: If you don't like the virtue

When inviting parents to bring their children to neighborhood children's classes, we show them Ruhi Book 3 and list the virtues covered, such as truthfulness, obedience, and justice. We then tell the parents that their children will be excused from classes any week that we cover a virtue that the parents do not want their children to learn. No parent has objected to a virtue yet.

 

New Facebook friend John L had this story to tell. It deserves retelling. 

 

My favorite Baha'i children's class memories are wrapped up in this photo set. -gw

 

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On Inspired By Baha'i Yuut: The puzzled look on his face was part of his realizing that he's starting to make his own decisions

...this is the most ideal junior youth group I've started. For the first time I'm beginning with actual 11 year olds, as opposed to a mix of ages (my first group) or starting with mostly the same age but starting in either 7th grade (second group) or 8th grade (third group). That means for the first time, I could potentially study through all of the available curriculum with them, and it means I can start at an early age where they are still forming habits and attitudes.

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As with any group, there are always little moments that make it all worth it. Out of the five, two of them are from Baha'i families, and one of those announced that he had read the section of the first book before coming, even though we didn't start the book on the first night. One of the boys not from a Baha'i family asked, "What if I don't want to come?" and I said, "Then you don't have to come?" The puzzled look on his face was part of his realizing that he's starting to make his own decisions, and if he attends then he'll have to own it.

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http://bahaicoherence.blogspot.com/2011/01/first-day.html
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The second most viewed photo (out of 21,981) on my flickr site is entitled "Baha'i yuut." I was being cute with my spelling of "youth" when I put the up. It pictures some junior youth (at the time) in our cluster.
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Our cluster is really gearing up it's effort to form Junior Youth Groups. I'm inspired by the description of the JYG animator's efforts, as described above, and by Devon Gundry's video below. -gw
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On a Work in Progress: Baha'i Cluster Reflection Meeting photos, here and there (Deutschland)

 

Above is the complete photo set from our recent Baha'i Cluster Reflection Meeting. Below is a video about a recent CRM from a cluster in Germany. Different side of the world, same process. -gw

 

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On Huffington Post Covers Baha'i in Violent Times: In unity is security

From: Alexander M Zoltai

Date: Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 9:41 AM

The Huffington Post is a major online publication -- Major...

Great article with Baha'i in the title ( better for the search engines :-)

In Unity Is Our Security: Baha'i Wisdom For Violent Times

Alexander M Zoltai
Author of Notes from An Alien
Read It Online, Now !
Or, Get A Free Copy..

 

Thanks, Alex, for bringing my attention to this. -gw

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/homa-sabet-tavangar/centering-our-thoughts-an_b_807002.html

 

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On Frank and Open Consultation at the Reflection Meeting: It's so much better when everyone is in

Feeling left out is distressing. The assembled Baha'is at the Cluster Reflection Meeting were grateful for the friend who voiced feeling cut off from communications about the Intensive Programs of Growth in the cluster. By having the courage to share what has been her experience, the entire group was able to address the issue of communication and inclusion, and discuss what changes are necessary for more people to feel a part of what is happening in our Custer. Every willing soul has a place in the Institute Process.

The subject of inclusion always brings up for me a song by Incubus called "Are You In?" which I've posted about before on Baha'i Views. Here are the lyrics again.

It's so much better
When everyone is in are you in
It's so much better
When everyone is in are you in
Ooooh..............Are you in?
It's so much better
When everyone is in are you in
It's so much easier
When seafoam green is in fashion
Ooooh..............Are you in?
Are you...are you...........
Everybody in...........

Play song from MySpace Music

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